


Lonely Neighbor (What Am I To You?)

by Melusine11



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, BUT YOU HAVE TO EARN IT, Background Relationships, Ben and Rey both date other people in this but very very briefly, Ben is a baker, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, How long will it take for him to figure out it's the way to Rey's heart, I know it's a oneshot, Slow Burn, Smut, Stormpilot, baking together, but its still a slow burn, hayrides, you only meet Bazine once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-02 09:05:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17261420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melusine11/pseuds/Melusine11
Summary: Rey is more than content to ignore her new neighbor, but when he comes knocking on her door, asking for a cup of sugar, she finds she can’t refuse. He likes to bake, and she loves desserts. It will be a match made in heaven if either one of them ever decides to make the first move.





	Lonely Neighbor (What Am I To You?)

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Reylo Charity Anthology. Many, many thanks to the mods who put this together and made this possible, while helping to support some excellent causes. I'm honored to have been such a small part of it.
> 
> Thanks as well to [RebelRebel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebelRebel/pseuds/RebelRebel) for being my beta for this.
> 
> This is a long one-shot, but I think this piece is best enjoyed in this format. I tried something new with this anthology in the way I tell a story, so I hope you enjoy.

**Spring**

He moves in on a rainy Thursday. Rey stands leaning against the window frame, hands wrapped around a large mug of coffee, watching the moving truck jerk to a stop on the street below her. For two months the unit next to her had been blissfully, wonderfully empty. Two months of solid sleep, instead of being awakened at odd hours to the headboard banging against the wall that separated their rooms, or women dramatically finding their pleasure on a cock that was connected to the face of a man who looked like he didn’t really know what to do with one. Rey was pretty sure that was a correct assessment, based on the porn star sounds that echoed through her room, always cutting off sharply when it was done. More than once she heard the door to the main hall slam shut. With so many dissatisfied customers, she really wondered how he did it. Then he moved out, Mr. Sad Dick, Mr. Pain in the Arse. She never learned his real name, happier to grumble swears at him. Then came the silence. 

“We’ve had a good run,” Rey sighs, watching three men hop from the cab of the truck, strolling around and throwing open the trailer door. Once they disappear inside, she turns to get ready for work. 

Coveralls donned, folded down and tied around her waist until she is actually at work, she scoops up her keys and wallet before pulling open her door, coming face-to-face with a stranger, key outstretched towards her unit, and Rey reacts on instinct.

“Mother _fucker!_ ” The man yowls, head flying back and hands coming up to clutch his face.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Rey panics, recognizing him from the street. “I didn’t — I mean, okay, I meant it, but, I didn’t realize.”

“Poe, are you harassing my new neighbors?” A baritone voice rumbles from the elevator bay.

“No! They’re harassing me! Fuck, that’s one hell of a right hook.” He tips his head back and pinches at his now bleeding nose, turning to look at her from the corner of his eye.

“Uhhh, thanks? Hang on.” She darts back into her apartment, grabbing a box of tissues and her first aid kit from above the kitchen sink and comes back out into the hall. “Here,” she says, shoving tissues at his face before kneeling with the kit. She flips it open quickly, pulling out the instant ice pack, punching it, making the man— Poe — in front of her chuckle before she wriggles it around for a moment, activating it, then holding it up for him to take. “Sorry again.”

“No, no, I don’t mind getting hit by a pretty girl every once in a while,” he teases with a smile, and Rey can already see a bruise forming, stretching beneath both eyes. She’s a little mad that he’s good looking enough to kind of pull it off, with an olive complexion and dark hair, just this side of being salt and pepper.

“Yeah, well, don’t make me regret the apology,” she grumbles, rolling her eyes as she snaps the kit shut, retreating as far as her kitchen counter to drop it off. “You want one more door down,” she says, once she is back, squeezing into the hall with three men now, and pulling her door shut. 

“Would you knock it off, you’re gonna be fine.” An equally handsome black man who looks to be roughly Rey’s age is now kneeling next to Poe, who is suddenly acting far more dramatic than he had been. “I’m Finn,” he greets, glancing up, flashing her a dazzling smile. “Please ignore him, he thinks he’s going to be getting special treatment when we get home,” he pushes at Poe’s shoulder, “Babe, seriously, you’re being embarrassing,” 

“It’s fine,” Rey’s smile matches Finn’s as she watches him fuss more over Poe, “I’m Rey, by the way.”

“Oh, she can rhyme!” Poe laughs and Finn groans.

“Yeah, and she would like you to move so she can go to work.”

“Poe, for fuck's sake, get up. You have the damn key.” Rey’s gaze darts up to the figure looming near the door to the other apartment, arms full of boxes and eyes locked on her. He is tall, and that was saying something because she had always found herself to be tall. Tall, with an angular face and a pair of lips Rey quickly decides she would love to get to know better. She blinks, looks at Poe, who is now grumbling what sounds suspiciously like a long sequence of Spanish swear words, then looks back at the man brooding along the wall. She already misses the quiet that lingered on the other side of the wall, because there is no way a man who looks like that wouldn’t have a string of lovers.

“Well, uh, it was nice meeting you all.” She sidesteps the men on the floor, “If you need anything, you know where I live.” She laughs awkwardly, “I’ll try not to punch anyone else, but no promises. Have fun moving in!” She walks as quickly towards the elevators as she can while trying to still look casual. Jabbing at the down button, she moves inside as soon as the doors begin to open, smacking the ground floor button and the door close for good measure.

“Have fun moving in,” she mocks herself, once the car begins to descend, “What a dumb thing to say, moving isn’t fun, and now you’re in an elevator talking to yourself. Great.”

Later, once she’s home and showered off the grime from work, she orders dinner from her favorite place down the street and settles on her couch to scroll through Netflix until she finds something to fit her mood. When the knock comes on her door not long after, she springs up from the couch to answer it.

“Oh, hey!” she cries, surprise covering her face at seeing her new neighbor on the other side, “Thought you were my dinner.” She watches his cheeks turn pink and realizes how that sounded. “I ordered take away,” she informs him, _though I wouldn’t mind you, either_ , she thinks, opening the door further. “What’s up, neighbor?”

“It’s Rey, right?” he asks, looming in her doorway, the most gentle giant she’s ever seen. “I’m Ben,” he tells her after her nod, “And I was hoping you maybe had a cup of sugar I could borrow?” He says it so quietly Rey’s sure she misheard him. 

“Sugar?” she asks, stepping back, “I don’t know about borrowing it, but you’re certainly welcome to keep it. You can come in, you know,” she smiles at him, “I know I mistook you for my dinner, but I promise I don’t bite.” he teases, watching the blush on his cheeks darken. 

* * *

**Summer**

“You look good,” Rey smiles, “Had a hot date, tonight?” She knows he did, he’s been fretting over it for the past week, but delights in the way he’s still blushing about it. “Oh, did it go well?” she asks, watching him try to fight a smile and fail as he comes over to lean next to her against the glass of the greenhouse walls.

“It did,” he finally answers. Rey nudges him with her hip. “It was great.”

“Okay, I don’t actually care about that, give me the actual details. Did you kiss? _More?_ How long are you waiting to call her again, because I need you to know that that waiting thing is bullshit. If you have a good time, you gotta let the girl know. Now, not three days from now. Also, when are you going to share all of the baked goods I smelled you stress baking today?”

Ben chuckles, low in his throat, “That’s kind of creepy, Rey,” he says, but winks in her direction, “Whenever we come down from the roof.”

“What did you make?”

“Lemon bars.”

“Yum! Now tell me how the date went!”

“So pushy.”

“You love it.”

He hums, “It was good, it was a first date, so I wasn’t expecting much.”

“How many lemon bars did you make?”

“I wasn’t expecting much, but I was hoping. Anyway, we did kiss.”

“With tongue?”

“How is that any of your business?”

“That’s a no.”

“It’s not a no,” Ben grouses and then sighs, “No tongue.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t want to presume.”

Rey snorts at this and looks up at Ben, disbelieving, “Please, I bet that girl wanted your tongue so far down her throat,” Rey ignores the choking noise Ben releases at that, “Have you ever even looked at yourself? You’re a good looking guy.”

“It was the first — wait, you think I’m good looking?”

“I have eyes, don’t I?” she deadpans, “Anyway, we’re talking about you skimping on kisses.”

“It was the first date!”

“Boo, you’re such a gentleman. I feel like I don’t even know you.”

“To be fair, you kind of don’t? Sharing a few beers on the roof of our building, and you finding a way to con me out of baked goods does not an intense friendship make.”

“Wow, first of all, that’s really rude, I gave you _sugar_ , that is a lifelong bond right there, my guy.”

“Excuse me?”

“Ben, please text your date and tell her you had a great time tonight, but don’t make it sound lame.”

“You are the worst wingman.”

“I’m not a wingman at all, I’m just saying, tell her now, not three days from now, well, hang on, do you even want to see her again?”

“I think so, yeah.”

“Off to a promising start!” Rey snorts, clapping her hands together as she watches Ben dig his phone out of his back pocket and blink at it. “What’s wrong?” she asks.

“She, uh, she already texted me.”

“Yeah, okay, but your face, I can’t tell if it’s a good one or a bad one.”

“Not great,” he sighs, passing his thumb over the sensor to unlock it and read the message, “‘Hey Ben, I had an awesome time with you tonight, but I just don’t think I’m in a place to date, I just really have a lot on my plate right now. It was really nice to meet you.’” He looks up at Rey when he’s finished reading.

“Ouch,” she says with a wince. “What a bitch, though. She didn’t deserve tongue after all,” Rey declares, “so that works out!”

“What do I do though?” he asks.

“Fucking ghost her and come with me.”

“Where are we going?”

“I’m grabbing wine from my apartment, and then we’re eating all of those lemon bars.” She grabs his hand and pulls him along with her, moving the brick holding the door open before stomping down the steps. Ben’s heavy tread follows her and she passes his apartment to enter hers. “I’ll be right there,” she tells him, jimmying the key in the lock when it sticks before it finally moves and she pushes into her apartment. It takes her less than a minute to grab the bottle of Apothic red she had picked up yesterday; it’s still sitting on the counter where she left it.

“Alright,” she swings into his apartment like she always does, and pulls up short to find him tapping away at the screen of his phone. “You aren’t texting her back are you?” She asks with a frown.

“No, Finn and Poe, seeing if they want to do pizza and wings tomorrow.”

“Oh, fun. Corkscrew?”

“Second drawer to the left of the sink. Do you maybe want to come hang out with us tomorrow?” he asks, stepping into his room. “They’re just coming here, we’re going to binge _Stranger Things_ until we can’t anymore. Poe hasn’t seen it yet.”

“Maybe,” Rey hedges, working the found corkscrew into the bottle. “I have work tomorrow, but I could stop by after? Also, how has Poe not seen _Stranger Things_ yet?” Ben appears beside her, out of his date clothes and now in a tight black shirt and loose shorts. He makes a noncommittal noise as she wriggles the cork free with a ‘pop’ and opens his upper cabinets, reaching for the mason jars he uses for cups — something she gave him so much shit about when she first came over. “I hope red pairs well with lemon bars,” she jokes, pouring them each generous glasses.

“As long as it’s dry,” he says, appearing beside her and picking up his glass.

It takes two glasses of wine each, half of the tray of lemon bars split between them and half of the third season of _Parks and Rec_ before Ben stops obsessively glancing at his phone every few minutes like his date will suddenly change her mind. Rey falls asleep sometime after Chris makes his purchases at Grain ‘n Simple for the hamburger cook-off he's having with Ron.

The silence is what wakes her, sometime later, and she opens an eye to look at the screen asking if they were still watching. With a grunt, she sits up, subtly wiping the drool on her forearm off onto her shorts. Ben is sleeping, awkwardly tucked into his corner of the couch. Her feet are in his lap, one large hand curled around her ankle. Carefully, she extracts herself and stands, then searches for his remote to turn the TV off.

“Time issit?” he grumbles, running a hand over his face.

“Uh, late? Sorry, I fell asleep.”

“S’fine. You coming over tomorrow, still?”

“Sure, sure. Depends on work. I’ll text you, let you know. Uh. Goodnight.”

“Hey, Rey?” She looks back when he calls before she can open his door.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks. For tonight. You’re a good friend.”

Rey smiles a bit, locking away the memory of how they had been sleeping on his couch together. “Anytime. Gotta admit though, the baked goods are the only reason I come around.”

“Goodnight,” he laughs, standing from the couch now. Rey gives a quick finger wave before darting from his apartment to hole up in her own. 

* * *

**Fall**

“I feel like this is going to be all adorable families and gross couples.” Rey sighs as she hops from Ben’s truck and squints across the field to where the entrance to the orchard is. “This is peak time, look at it!” 

“I just want you to remember that we managed to match today,” Ben points out while still in the driver's seat, wearing a lopsided grin. Rey grunts. She had thrown on her favorite red plaid flannel shirt and jeans this morning, intending to be comfortable while looking event appropriate. Apparently, Ben had the same idea and of all of his plaid shirts had thrown on his red one too. “So we’re gonna look like a gross couple as well.”

“Speak for yourself, Solo. I’m adorable,” she declares before closing the truck door.

People are weaving through the makeshift parking lot and lining up along the side of the barn to pass through an arch made of corn husks. Up the hill, in the field, several tractors are moving wagonloads of people from the bottom to the top while others were opting to walk.

“How many pumpkins can we fit in the bed of your truck?” Rey asks, finally moving to meet Ben at the hood. “Just a guess,” she says at his frown.

“You can fit two.”

“You’re no fun.”

“We’re here for apples,” he reminds her, beginning the trek through the worn, almost muddy grass.

“Apples are nice, sure, but just think of the things you can make with pumpkins.”

“Like what?”

“Like what? He says, like what. Why are Finn and Poe not here? They would totally take my side on this.”

“Finn doesn’t even like pumpkin.”

“Well, now we can’t be friends,” Rey sniffs before grinning, “Anyway, let me sing you the song of my pumpkin-loving people.” She laughs when Ben sighs heavily beside her as they take their place in line. “Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, homemade pumpkin spice creamer, pumpkin creme brulee-”

“What?”

“What are you saying what to?”

“The creme brulee!”

“Figure it out, it sounds delicious. Where was I? Oh, roasted pumpkin, pumpkin muffins, all of those pumpkin seeds, pumpkin pasta, pumpkin pie.”

“You said pie already.”

“Can’t a girl like pumpkin pie?”

“She can, but you already named it twice, Bubba Gump.”

“It’s just Bubba, you nerd.” Rey laughs, leaning into him for the briefest of moments before drawing away, “Now, back to my list, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin whoopie pies, pumpkin soup? That’s a thing, right? Or is it more of a bisque? Hmmm, oh! Pumpkin _ice cream_! Oh man, we are buying so many pumpkins.”

“You can make those things with apples too,” Ben says weakly. 

“Apple noodles? Please, your defense needs work.”

“Fine, most of those things.”

“Let's just knock down the wall between our apartments so we have a two-oven kitchen and do nothing but bake.”

“You hate to bake.”

“Okay, I will absolutely give you that, but I do like to eat, so it’s a win for us both.”

“What happens if that guy you’re seeing, Pete, right? What if he wants to come over?”

“That’s a super casual thing, and I would just put a sock on the door, like the respectable human being I am.”

“The door to the room that you’ve just knocked the separating wall down in?”

“Fine, we don’t go that far, just common living spaces only. Oh my god, the front of the line!” Rey loops her arm through Ben’s as they each get a stamp with a smiling apple on their hands while maps are shoved at each of them and two teens who look like they want to be anywhere else tell them ‘have a nice day’ in a tone that betrays the sentiment.

“Can I ask a question?” Rey asks, strolling arm in arm with Ben to where there’s a queue of people waiting to take the wagon.

“Shoot.”

“If I would hypothetically inquire about the corn maze-”

“No.”

“I thought so. Alternate question; if I would hypothetically inquire about the corn maze with the sole incentive to scare people in it?”

“Oh, keep talking.” She can hear his smirk and tilts her head back to look at it, smiling when it widens into a full blown grin. “I like the way you think, Niima.”

“Yeah? Let's do that first then, so we aren’t lugging around eighty pumpkins.”

“Again, we are not buying that many pumpkins.”

“Fine, but I object.”

“I hear your objections. I’m choosing to ignore them.” The tractor finally rumbles up and passengers laden with apples and pumpkins disembark before they’re allowed on. Ben manages to keep them at the back, so he’s not pressed in on either side by people, but his knees are still practically folded up to his chest as he settles on the low haybale. “This is fun, we should have walked.”

“You are not depriving me of a full fall experience after you dragged me out to this farm, now please smile, or try not to glare.”

“Why?” he asks, horror dawning as she sticks her phone up in front of them and rests her chin on his shoulder, “No.”

“Just don’t look grumpy,” she says while smiling and when he finally relaxes his face a minute amount she’s quick to snap the picture. “Awww, look, we’re cute!” She turns the phone in his direction. Ben is getting ready to grudgingly admit that, yes, they are _cute_ when the woman sitting across the aisle of hay pipes up.

“You two do make an adorable couple if you don’t mind my saying so.”

“Oh, thank you, that’s very kind, but we aren’t together.” Rey pipes up before Ben can say something super unfortunate. Rey doesn’t like the way the woman continues to look between them, but they’re at the top of the hill and Ben is quick to disembark, leaving Rey to shoot the woman one last glare before scrambling after him, his long legs carrying him to the entrance to the corn maze.

* * *

**Winter**

“That’s the saddest excuse for a Christmas tree I’ve ever seen.” Ben proclaims once he’s deposited a massive tray of cookies on her center island.

“Ehh, at least I’ve got one this year. I normally don’t, but with Rose deciding to visit I figured I should try and look a little festive. I left it too late though, slim pickings down at the lot.”

“It’s very Charlie Brown of you,” Ben offers, poking gently at one of the glittery baubles balanced precariously on a branch.

“Thanks. So, what’s the stress baking occasion this time?” she asks, circling around to the cookie tray and prying the lid off to steal a raspberry thumbprint. Rey looks over at him as she pops the whole thing in her mouth and whimpers.

“What?” he asks at the noise, before quickly holding up a hand when she starts to open her mouth, “No. I’ll wait until you’ve eaten that, you monster.” He shoves his hands deep in his pockets and stares absently out her window. “My parents are coming to visit for the weekend, to celebrate. I haven’t seen them in years, honestly, and I’m nervous, things haven’t been great, you know?”

Rey bobs her head as she swallows, “You don’t use almond extract and I could absolutely kiss you right now!” She declares, blinking when Ben blushes, before grabbing another one. “And while I do not know _personally_ , I do recall you mentioning the _drama_.”

“Yeah, well, we’re trying to put a lot of it behind us, so they’re coming in, and I can only keep so many cookies to myself, you know?”

“You have trays made up for Finn and Poe already, don’t you?”

“ _Yes_ ,” he cries, slumping onto her couch, “I have a whole week to go until they’re even here. At this rate, I’ll be able to make a tray up for everyone in this building.”

“Ben, I know this is your coping mechanism for a lot of stuff, but I really feel like this can’t be sustainable. Financially, and I don’t know how much more my waistline can take,” she teases, draping herself over the back of the couch.

“Your waistline is perfect,” Ben says and Rey laughs, pressing a kiss against his cheek. “Sorry,” he mumbles, still blushing.

Rey stands and walks around to stand in front of him. “You’re a flatterer, now get up.” She holds her hand out towards him, wiggling her fingers, “Please.”

“Why?” he asks, hesitantly putting his hand in hers. She pulls him up swiftly and then kicks her coffee table out of the way. “What are you doing?”

“Just wait a second, will you?” she huffs, fishing her phone from her pocket and retreating to the windowsill where her small Bluetooth speakers sit. A moment of fussing later, Ben stands, mystified, in the center of Rey’s living room as Christmas music fills the room. “Dance with me?” 

“What?” he asks dumbly as she spins towards him. “How will this help?”

“I don’t know, just, come on.” She lifts his heavy limbs, places one at her waist where he instinctively curls his fingers tighter against the fabric of her shirt while she lifts the other, keeping it in her hand while her free one comes to rest on his shoulder. She reaches it easily, even in feet merely covered in socks and spares a thought for the handful of girlfriends he had taken out before, and how they always needed sky-high heels to come close to being able to do this. “I’ll lead,” she laughs when he makes no effort to move.

“Oh, sorry, I just never realized how tall you are.”

“Stop it, I bet you say that to all of the ladies.” He smirks and starts the steps to one of only two dances he knows, which surprises Rey, he can see it by the expression on her face, “Fancy,” she says, glancing down to watch their steps.

“Don’t look. Just trust me. You’re more likely to step on me if you _are_ watching,” he chuckles when she scowls at him.

“Do you want to talk about it at all?” she asks, staring at his shoulder where her hand rests.

“Not right now.”

“Okay, well, if you do, my door is always open, mostly because the lock is busted, but metaphorically too.”

“You really should call the Super about that.”

“I’ll fix it myself, and then he won’t have a key to just pop in unannounced. He’s been doing that less since you moved in, though.”

“I am pretty scary,” Ben agrees and Rey laughs again. The song changes, it’s way more upbeat, but he keeps the steps the same.

“I’ve had a lot of really shitty holidays,” her voice is low, eyes still staring hard at his shoulder, “Like _really_ shit, you know? Also, some really interesting ones — learned some new traditions, but I mostly got paired with families that did Christmas and Easter. My last foster home was the best.” She smiles softly, “Maz, she was this small woman, older, but she just had so much love to give, she was very much no-nonsense, would tell it like it was, but over tea. She never did anything extravagant for presents, but she made so much food we would feast all week. Even after I aged out, she let me come back for holidays. She knit me this gorgeous blanket the last Christmas we shared. It was — the best gift. I got a call, maybe a week after break had ended. Car accident, drunk driver, gone on impact. S-she had made me her emergency contact. Sorry.” She sniffed, “I didn’t mean to make this about me. I just wanted to say I know what shit holidays are like. So if you need to escape when they’re here... You know where I live.”

“What about Rose?” Ben asked. He had only met the bubbly woman twice, and he liked her well enough, but he didn’t want to intrude.

“She’s only here for a day and a half, and not when your family will be here.”

“You should come over.”

“Oh, no, that’s — I’m okay. I don’t want to intrude. Especially if you all are just sort of getting back on your feet with one another.”

“What if I want you there?” his voice is soft, cheek pressed against her temple.

Rey blinks into Ben’s chest and releases a shuddering breath. “Yeah, okay, sure. I can do that, but just give me a signal if you need me to fake food poisoning, and then we can both escape over to here if we have to.”

He laughs against her, “I like that plan,” he confesses quietly, squeezing her hand tightly for just a moment before twirling her out in a dramatic spin.

* * *

**Spring**

They came into her life over a year ago now, Ben, Finn, and Poe. Poe had called her yesterday to inform her it was their anniversary. The first time he had been knocked off his feet by a girl. She had laughed and happily accepted when he and Finn invited her out for dinner and a movie. Not Ben though, hardly ever Ben anymore. He had met someone after the new year, and she was happy for him, really she was, because he seemed happy, and she wanted him to be happy. She just wishes she hadn’t figured out she wanted him to be happy with her, while she listened to them having sex one night several weeks ago. She’s slept with earplugs ever since, sometimes relocating to her couch just be safe.

When she steps out into the hall later, black jeans, chucks and her favorite leather jacket donned, she almost runs right into them.

“Oh, hey, sorry!” she smiles, but at his girlfriend's reaction, isn’t sure she cleared anything beyond a grimace.

“Hey, Rey. Where are you off to?” Ben asked, grinning down at her.

“Dinner date with Finn and Poe. Mostly Poe, it's our, hey I just punched you in the face anniversary.”

“Who are Finn and Poe?” the girlfriend asks over Ben’s bark of laughter, Rey can’t be bothered to remember her name. That's not true, she knows it’s Bazine, she just chooses to call her ‘the girlfriend.’

Rey blinks at Ben, who frowns, “They’re friends,” he says slowly, “I’ve mentioned them before, you would like them. We should figure out a time to hang out together.”

“Hmm, maybe,” the girlfriend replies, and Rey watches her nails dig into Ben’s arm, “But let's worry about that later, I believe you promised me dessert.” She practically purrs into Ben’s ear, loud enough for Rey to hear, and leave no delusions about what ‘dessert’ might be.

“Gross,” Rey mutters, backing away from them, “Well, have a good night, I guess.” Rey waves and punches the button for the elevator.

“Tell Finn and Poe I said ‘hi’,” Ben calls as he unlocks his door.

“You have a phone,” Rey calls back, sighing in relief as the doors opened. She steps in, turning to hit the button for the lobby and catches Ben staring at her with a frown over Bazine’s head.

“Ohhh, Peanut, what happened? You look ready to murder someone.” Finn announces when she opens the door and slides into the back seat of their car.

“Nothing. Ben says hello.”

“I’m sure he did,” Poe mutters, pulling away from the curb, “So, that’s still a thing?”

“Uh-huh, thankfully they spend most of their time at her place.”

“Guess so. You feeling more action movie or drama tonight? Oh, or maybe a comedy.”

“I’m voting comedy,” Finn says, scrolling through his phone to check times, “Oh, that new one is playing at 7:00. And no, it's not animated — not that there is _anything_ wrong with that.”

“It was one time! One time and all I said was that I didn’t like ‘The Rescuers’,” Poe said.

“It’s my favorite.”

“I don’t even think that’s supposed to be a comedy, is it?” Rey chimed in.

“Yes! No. I don’t know. I love it.”

“Finn thinks that because I didn’t like it, I’m going to protest all animated movies,” Poe tells Rey, glancing back at her through the rearview mirror.

Finn huffs and turns to look at Poe, “What about Zootopia?”

“You wanted to go see it when I was on call for the weekend, I promised the weekend after, and you went without me!” Poe is laughing now and Rey tilts her head to rest against the seat back, smiling as she watches Finn’s hand capture Poe’s.

Rey lets herself forget about Ben and Bazine and whatever the fuck ‘dessert’ shenanigans they got up to, choosing to enjoy the banter of Finn and Poe, and stuff herself full of as much hibachi goods as she can. Finn let her finish his plate. When they stumble back to the car, giggling at the movie, she pulls out her phone to check the time and is surprised to find a message waiting for her.

_**Ben** _

**__** _Roof?_

Rey doesn’t respond, sliding her phone back into her pocket and stretching out across the backseat for the drive home. Before they even get to her building, she can see him, lurking up on the roof like damn Batman and she sighs heavily. It’s been months since they’ve hung out on the roof together. She wonders what went wrong with the girlfriend tonight.

“You still coming over for game night?” Pos asks, turning in his seat to look at her once he’s stopped.

“Unless something happens with work, yeah, I’m there.”

“Perfect, charades it is!”

“Fuck off, Poe,” Rey laughs as she opens the door, “Finn banned that game.”

“With good reason! It wasn’t strip charades.”

“Yeah, well maybe it needs to be,” Poe laughs, winking at Rey.

“Trust me, Poe, I am more than content to let Finn be the only one who sees what you’ve got hiding under all of that.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, Rey.”

“Why do you two always insist on flirting when I’m around?” Finn interrupts, making both Poe and Rey laugh.

Rey finally climbs out of the car, biting down hard on her lip to keep from laughing further, “You two lovebirds have fun tonight.”

“Happy Anniversary!” Poe yells as she shut the door, and she laughs as they pulled away, watching Finn gesture dramatically at himself. 

Spinning on her heels she punches in the building code before taking the stairs two at a time, stopping at her apartment to drop off the remains of her movie snacks and tossing her purse on the couch. She wonders how long she can linger before Ben either texts or comes down to see what the hold up is, but doesn’t really want to test fate.

“I was worried you might not come,” Ben says when she finally emerges onto the roof, pulling her jacket just a little tighter around herself as she walks towards him.

“What happened?” she asks at the same time he asks, “How are Finn and Poe?”

Rey watches him bite his lips before, “You first, it's probably shorter.”

“They’re good. Game night is on Friday.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, so if you’re free.” She takes a breath and turns, leaning back against the wall to look up at him. “So?”

“That was weird, earlier, right? In the hall?”

“Are you serious? Yes! How does she not know who Finn and Poe are?”

“I’ve told her about them.”

“So she doesn’t care about the words coming out of your mouth, just what you can do with your mouth.”

“Rey!” He wheezes looking scandalized. Rey doesn’t even bother to hide her eyeroll.

“Don’t play dumb, we all know what dessert means.”

“You know I like to make desserts, I’ll have you know I made an excellent coconut cream pie today.”

“Please, please, _please_ tell me that is not the dessert you’re going with,” she laughs, takes one look at Ben’s face while trying to pull herself together before losing it all over again. “Oh my god. I cannot fucking believe this.” She snorts, wiping tears from her eyes.

“Rey. Oh my god. Who the hell taught you that?”

“I watch porn! I know things! Don’t look at me like that, it’s normal! Did you for real make a coconut cream pie, it’s just sitting innocently on your counter and this is not some terrible euphemism.”

A smile teases the corners of his mouth as he nods, “I really did!” 

“Then we should totally go eat that. I have a really terrible line I want to add here, but I won't.”

“No, nope, I got it. Pretty sure I know where you’re trying to go and let's just not.” 

Rey snorts again. “I’ve missed our roof hangouts,” she says softly.

“Yeah, me too.”

“Oh! Wait, you wanted to talk.”

“Nah, just wanted this. And to apologize, for the weirdness in the hall, and maybe I can see about coming to game night.”

“You’re sure everything’s fine?” she asks, narrowing her eyes at him, and after a moment Ben nods. “Alright, then I should warn you it's gonna be strip charades,” she tells him, pulling open the door.

“I thought Finn banned that game,” he says, sounding confused as he descends the steps behind her and Rey laughs the entire (short) walk back to his place.

* * *

**Summer**

“What-” Rey looks up at the sound of his choked word, watches him look around her apartment like he’s never been before and then he’s looking at her again. “What are you doing? Don’t you have something to — why are you naked?”

“First of all, this is my apartment that you just waltzed into.”

“I knocked! You said come in!”

“Yeah. Second, it’s hot. Third, since when does wearing underwear mean you’re naked?”

“Basically naked.”

“Oh no, a boy saw my underwear, what will I do?” Rey rolls her eyes and then turns to get back to taking apart her AC unit.

“I could have been anyone!”

“Yes, most people that come to my door knock and announce themselves by saying. ‘Rey, it’s me, Ben, can I come in?’”

“You are in your underwear.”

“It’s bloody hot! You’re being dramatic. Let's just pretend I’m in a bikini.”

“But you aren’t.”

“Oh my god, can you at least shut the door, please.” She turns enough to watch him do as requested and then picks up her set of micro-screwdrivers, looking for the one she needs. “So what’s up?”

She hears the springs in her couch creak as he sits, then a thud as he kicks the leg of her coffee table, like always. She smiles. “You haven’t been returning my calls or texts,” he mumbles and Rey hums as she unseats the compressor. “Why?”

“I’ve been busy, mostly melting, as you can see, but busy. Plus I’ve seen the way your girlfriend looks at me. I don’t need to deal with that shit.”

“What are you talking about? She was always nice to you.”

“Oh Ben, so innocent, so naive. No, that woman wants to claw my eyes out, probably disembowel me, too. I don’t know, she looks like she’d be into some freaky shit.” Behind her, Ben coughs and Rey smothers a laugh in the back of her hand. “You never left a message, so I figured it wasn’t important. Plus all of your texts were just weird emojis? I am sadly not a cryptologist.”

“I don’t think that’s the right word, but never mind. I just, I hadn’t seen you in a while, and I guess, I missed you. Anyway, Baz is _gone_ and I remembered you wanting to learn how to make a souffle, and if you aren’t busy, my work has finally calmed down some, so I just thought...”

“Thought you would teach me to bake? It’s hot out, learning how to make a souffle is the last thing I want to do. I need to find a new compressor, probably just go grab one from work, and lay in an ice bath or something.”

“My air still works. So-” He stops as Rey springs up from the floor.

“What are we waiting for, let's go! Before we do though,” she says, stepping across the floor so she’s directly across from him, only the coffee table separating them. “The fact that you’re inviting me over because your girlfriend is out of town, is one, kind of fucked up, and two, the fact that you are — Ben, there’s no way to say this nicely, but your relationship is fucked up.”

“Wait, what?”

“Ben! When’s the last time you did anything with Finn and Poe? They’re your best friends, I’m just your neighborhood pastry thief.”

“Okay, well, wait just a minute — you’re my friend too, Rey.”

“Am I? Because ever since she came into your life, you’ve seemed to have forgotten that other people exist. If you’re happy, _great_ , but Ben. It’s not sustainable, or healthy or normal.” She puts the broken compressor on her coffee table with a sigh. “Are you happy?”

“What?” he blinks and Rey frowns, “I’m sorry, you’re just, still in your underwear, and you were right, it’s very hot in your apartment.”

“Keep it in your pants, Solo,” she huffs before turning to retreat to her room. “Did you even pay attention to anything I said to you?” She calls back as she throws on the skater dress she had tossed on her bed earlier.

“Yes.” 

“Are you going to at least think about it?” she asks, stepping back into the living room to find him waiting by the door.

“Think about what?” he asks as he opens the door, ushering her out.

Rey grunts, “Did you seriously not listen to a thing I said? About you and Baz. I just really, really don’t want to be that person, but-”

“I could ask the same of you,” he interrupts as they walk into his apartment. Rey sighs in relief as the cool air hits her skin, “I appreciate you looking out, but Rey, I told you, Baz is gone. As in, not out of town, like I would have explained if you even let me talk, or not been so distracting since you were naked.”

“Underwear,” Rey interrupts, and Ben picks her up only to deposit her on a stool by his island.

“Will you just please.” Rey gives a half smile when Ben pinches the bridge of his nose, taking a moment to gather himself. “Baz is gone. We broke up. Three weeks ago.”

“Three-” she starts before humming, “Okay, wow. Well. Now I feel like an ass.”

“Don’t,” Ben says easily with a shrug as he walks to the fridge and removes a carton of eggs. “Now, would you like to get started?”

“Yes, please! What do you need me to do?”

“Have you ever separated egg yolks before?” he asks, flipping open the carton before opening a lower cabinet and withdrawing two glass bowls.

“No,” she answers, coming around the island to watch. “But I’m a fast learner.”

Ben looks up at her, crouched down with two small ramekins in her hands. “I think I can work with that.”

Rey quickly learns why only scenes involving flour make it into sexy baking montages in movies. Eggs are gross, at least separating them is. Ben shows her how to do it with the shell, which looks easy enough, but she breaks three yolks while Ben is melting chocolate and mixing something else together before giving up and just using her hands like she’s seen people do on TV. They’re already a mess anyway, she figures it can’t get worse.

“You got an egg yolk I can have yet?” Ben asks when she finally thinks she’s got the hang of it.

“Yeah. You just want me to throw it at you?” she asks, which makes him laugh but then there’s a bowl in front of her and he wriggles it around until she drops it in.

“Thank you!” he nearly sings, before spinning back to the stovetop.

“Aren’t you gonna tell me what comes next?” she asks, staring down at her egg-coated fingers.

“You can wash your hands,” he chuckles, looking at her from over his shoulder, “Then grab the sugar and the cream of tartar and once this is going I’ll come help if you need it.”

She washes her hands quickly, then grabs the needed items, dragging the recipe card over towards her so she can read it. When Ben finally comes over she’s got everything portioned out and has already added the cream of tartar to the egg whites.

“Need any help?” 

“Uh, I don’t know. I just whisk this? And I can read what it says, but I don’t — oh.” She jolts when his arms come around her and lifts the bowl with his left while gently taking her hand and the whisk in the other. It takes all of five seconds for her to be converted into the romantic baking scene in movies. That’s not where this is going, it can’t be, but oh to be in his arms.

“Perfect,” he declares, lifting the whisk a minute later, “See that? That’s what we want, now add some of the sugar while I whisk.” She watches his arm flex as he works and adds the rest as she’s told. She’s still neatly nestled in his arms when he settles the whisk down on the countertop. “Now the fun part, come with me.” Obediently she follows to the stovetop where the chocolate mixture and empty ramekins await. 

Entranced, she watches him work, “This is folding?” she asks, looking from the bowl up to him.

“It is. I see someone read the directions, good girl.” It starts off teasing and ends in a low murmur and Rey can do nothing but nod dumbly and stare intently at the bowl and act like everything is normal when the world seems to be falling out from beneath her feet.

“We should order food!” she announces loudly into the quiet kitchen once the souffles are in the oven. “My treat, since you’re baking, I mean, technically _we_ are baking, but we’re using your kitchen and your supplies and I made a mess of things over there with the eggs, and what do you want to eat?” She rambles on, and hope’s more than half of it was coherent, that there was actually a sentence somewhere in there.

He stares at her so long she feels the urge to flee. “You,” he says, and Rey thinks it’s lucky she’s not holding any eggs anymore, because she would have dropped them all in shock. With shaking hands, she watches a muscle under his left eye twitch and then he’s speaking again. “You know that place two blocks down?”

“Oh, the Thai one?”

“No, Italian.”

“That one is good too,” she agrees with a nod, and he smiles at her.

“It is. The chicken parmesan with the angel hair pasta.” She’s got her phone out, and entering the order within moments and sighs when it’s done. “Twenty minutes,” she announces, wishing it took more time to order food, but then it would just take longer to get there.

“Perfect. Plenty of time.”

“Time for what?” she asks slowly, still not sure what to do about the way Ben is looking at her. Like he really could eat her. Maybe he had been serious, and would she really say no? She can’t remember the last time she had a decent—

“To clean up the mess you made,” he laughs, waving an arm to gesture at his kitchen.

Oh. “Mmmm, yeah. I did do that,” she agrees with a nod and then spins around to gather up egg shells. If she cleans up slower than expected, Ben doesn’t say anything, and when she’s finally done she spends more time that she should methodically washing her hands. She goes back for more soap twice.

“Rey?” Ben’s voice is so close, she jumps. Turning quickly, she is met with the wall that is his chest before she looks up at him, he’s frowning down at her. “You okay?” he asks, slowly reaching around her to turn off the running water.

“Of course! Yes, I am, very, yes.” She frowns as she blinks and then rallies herself. “I’m fine. I think being trapped in my hot apartment all day is finally catching up to me.” There, that sounded reasonable.

“Well, you’re welcome to stay as long as you like,” he says and Rey nods, but it’s starting to feel just as hot over here, which might be a problem. Maybe if the oven turned off, or he wasn’t so close, he was really, really close now. “We could watch a movie or a show.”

“That would be nice,” she agrees with a smile, now rubbing her hands over the skirt of her dress to dry them. He leans down, and _fuck_ if this isn’t what she wanted, but it all feels wrong somehow. It would be easy, to kiss him, here in his kitchen, air mostly cleared between them, but she doesn’t have to truly avoid it. “The souffles!” she gasps, looking away from him when the oven timer goes off, and he blinks before his eyes go wide, quickly turning to remove them. He’s just turned it off when there’s a knock at the door.

“And dinner! Perfect timing,” she enthuses, skirting around him to answer the door and get their dinner. 

She slips the delivery guy an extra five just because of his timing and then turns back, closing the door, and Ben is still standing at the stove.

“Hey,” she says as she places the bags down on the island to come around, “Are you okay?” she asks, a little worried, because he still hasn’t moved.

“I’m fine, but the souffle,” he bemoans, waving a hand over them.

“Oh! They look great!” She smiles at them and then up at him and he’s frowning, “Do they not look great?” she asks slowly.

“No,” he growls, “They should have risen, not deflated into this mess.”

“Oh, well. Can we still eat them? Does them not being able to stay up affect the way they taste?”

“No.”

“Great! Then we can still have dessert, but then maybe next time, we’ll get it right. I don’t really bake, so this is probably my fault, I promise I won’t let you down next time.”

“Next time?”

“Oh, or, nevermind! We don’t have to-”

“No, no, I want to. I very much want to try this again,” he tells her with a sharp nod.

“Good, me too. Maybe the timing was off, or I don’t know. The oven?”

“The timing,” he parrots slowly, looking down at her, eyes scanning her face. “The timing was off, I’m sure that was it. We’ll be sure the timing is right next time.” 

Rey smiles at him and then reaches overhead to pull two plates from the cabinets, “So I’m starving, and we should eat.”

* * *

**Fall**

“I think I finally did it!” Ben announces, throwing open the door to her apartment. Rey squawks and topples out of tree pose.

“Ben, what the fuck?” she asks once she catches her footing and spins to look at him.

“Sorry, I didn’t know it was yoga time, but I think I finally did it, so come quick.” He turns around and runs back to his apartment. 

“What? Ben! What are you talking about?” she yells after him, but there’s no answer. She sighs and rolls up her mat, kicking it under the couch and follows after him. “Okay, I’m here, what is-” she trails off as she presses the door shut behind her. His kitchen is covered with _stuff_. Egg cartons, and pumpkin cans, and _actual pumpkins,_ and bags of sugar, and she’s not sure he actually has a counter anymore because it’s hidden beneath more ramekins than she’s ever seen. “Are you throwing a party later?” she eventually asks, eyes searching for a moment before finding him tucked into the corner by the fridge.

“No. I probably should, though, shouldn’t I?” he laughs a bit, running a hand through his hair. She smiles gently at how disheveled he looks, “I’ll think about it. Now come in here, stop lingering by the door like a creep.”

“I’m only doing it to avoid any potential disasters. What the hell were you doing in here?”

“Experimenting, and I think I got it, come sit,” he springs into action, pulling out a bar stool, then sidling over to where row after row of ramekins filled with, _oh,_ creme brulee, sit waiting. “I’m pretty sure, no wait, it’s this batch, okay.” He plucks up one near the middle, and she has no idea how he knows it’s the one he wants, but she will trust him.

He places it before her with a flourish, producing a spoon from somewhere and he smiles as she takes it, “Now, for the finishing touch.” He blindly reaches for the closest bag of sugar, Rey lets out a small noise as he practically upends the thing, depositing sugar on top. She eyes him as he pulls a hand-held blow torch from his belt, and honestly, that seems more like something she would do. He ignites it, holding it above the sugar until it’s a melting, blistering, caramel-y coating on top. “Viola,” he says as he wedges the torch between two pumpkin carcasses and sits down on the stool next to her.

“You’re not going to watch me eat this, are you?” she asks as she waits for the sugar to harden a bit.

“Yes.”

“Okay, weirdo.”

“I need to see your reaction because you can lie with your mouth, but you suck at keeping a poker face, _especially_ when it involves food.”

“How dare you exploit my one weakness,” she laughs then pokes gently at the top, not just yet. “Have you tried it yet?”

He groans, putting his head down onto the countertop. “Every batch. I never want to eat creme brulee of any flavor again.”

Rey pats him gently on the back and lets her eyes take in the utter chaos of his kitchen once more. It was over a year ago, had to be, when she jokingly told him to ‘figure it out’ when he questioned her inclusion of pumpkin creme brulee on her list of delicious pumpkin flavored things. He remembered, she thinks, blinking quickly as she feels moisture building in her eyes. He did all of this, made a mess of his house, spent what looks to be a stupid amount of money, as well as time, just to try and figure this out, for her. She lets her spoon crack through the sugar, sinking down into the cream before she can think anything stupid.

“Are you ready?” she asks, slightly thrown by the quiet tremor in her voice. She glances over at him to find him sitting up, paying rapt attention to her and she exhales. “This is weird.”

“Just eat it,” he encourages before he does that delicious thing with his mouth, almost biting his lips while also rolling his jaw.

She lifts her spoon, a generous serving heaped on it and gently waves it in front of her face, “Here I go,” she announces, uselessly, since his eyes haven’t left her person, let alone strayed from her mouth for a while now. Popping the spoon into her mouth quickly is the best way to go about it, _don’t drag it out_ , she thinks, before doing exactly that. Her eyes flutter shut and she releases a quiet whimper as she removes the spoon from between her lips, letting the dessert sit on her tongue for a moment so she can savor the flavors. It is perfection, it is sublime, it might just be the best damn thing she’s ever put in her mouth. She opens her eyes as she licks the remnants off the spoon before going back for more.

Ben clears his throat as she licks her lips, “What — how is it?” Rey peeks at him through her lashes, notices how tense he is, hears the low gravel of his voice and she shoves the spoon in her mouth once more.

“It’s really good,” she tells him around the bite, pushing the ramekin towards him, “You want a taste?” She holds out the spoon to him with another smile, ignoring the fact that he tried to tell her he doesn’t ever want to eat creme brulee again. 

Her smile grows as he takes the spoon from her, only to place it down on the counter, “Ben, what-?” she begins before he cuts her off with a kiss. It’s a brief meeting of lips that surprises her, takes her breath away before he dives back in for more. He stands from his stool, spins her on her own as his arms come around her, caging her in against the island as his mouth demands more of her. She gives it willingly, whimpers again when his tongue sweeps into her mouth while her hands journey up his chest to clutch tightly at his shoulders. 

She is left gasping when he pulls away. “Divine,” he tells her earnestly and Rey stares blankly up at him, eyes dancing between his own. His own eyes are intense and focused on her, pupils blown wide. She feels his right arm moving around behind her before he leans in and presses a quick peck to her mouth. “I think,” he tells her with a voice like sin, “That I might like another taste.” 

This time she doesn’t look away. 

He feeds her another bite of the brulee and leans back into her.

She hears the spoon clatter onto the floor.

* * *

**Winter**

Rey stirs, blinking groggily as she wakes and cursing herself for not shutting her curtains last night, but oh, this wasn’t her room, she realizes as her eyes finally focus on the window and it’s distinct lack of blinds or curtains.

“Morning,” Ben’s voice rasps against her ear, his arm curling tighter around her. “It’s snowing.” He points out and Rey hums, throwing her arms above her head and stretching languidly against him. She buries her face in the fabric of the pillow, hiding her grin when he grunts, hips shifting against her own, pressing his cock more firmly against the cleft of her ass cheeks. “Minx.” His voice is a low rumble of delight and she turns so she’s facing him.

“‘M still sleepy,” she slurs, tucking herself up neatly beneath his chin, peppering kisses across his chest. 

“Five more minutes,” he concedes after taking a peek at his phone, “And then we should start getting ready.”

“Okay,” she sighs, content against him, one arm pillowed beneath her cheek while the other slinks its way down to where his erection lays, trapped between them.

“Rey.”

“You’re right,” she sighs again, sliding her hand up to settle at his waist, “Five more minutes, and then-” she laughs when he eases her over onto her back, quickly shutting up when his mouth claims her own. He pulls back as he settles between her thighs and she smiles up at him. Ben looks good all the time, but fuck if she doesn’t love the way he looks when he’s just woken up, all sleep-mussed hair and sleep-heavy eyes — the thoroughly kissed lips aren’t bad, either. 

“Ben,” her voice hitches as he slowly eases two fingers into her, teasing for a moment before pumping in earnest, thumb passing over her clit.

He presses a kiss to her inner knee and keeps his lips there as he asks, “Yes, Rey?” 

“I don’t — oh — I don’t think this will take five minutes or less,” she gasps the words, fisting her hands into the sheet under the pillows as he continues to work at her, mouth languidly moving up her thigh, inching ever closer to where she so desperately wants him to be. “Oh, fuck yes.” His tongue replaces his thumb without warning and Rey’s hands release the blanket to drift down and clutch at his hair instead.

“One minute to spare,” he quips, surfacing after she comes and Rey watches him as he licks his lips before sucking his fingers into his mouth. “Divine,” he tells her with a smile and Rey rolls her eyes but can’t fight a smile of her own.

“Where are you going?” she asks, sitting up when he stands from the bed, “Come back.”

“To shower.”

“What? No, Ben, come back.” She stares pointedly at his hard cock for a moment then glances up to catch him blushing, “Please, let me take care of you.”

He’s got one knee back on the bed, and Rey wastes no time in pulling him fully in once more as he kisses her. “We need to shower,” he says against her mouth, “And clean the kitchen,” Rey agrees with a moan, pulling him down with her as she reclines. “I cannot believe you talked me into doing that,” he manages to speak again and Rey grunts in frustration.

She slaps a hand against his mouth and then rolls them over. “It was your idea,” she smirks, sliding back just enough before reaching between them to grip his cock, “And as I recall, you were really into it,” she sighs as she sinks down onto him and she feels him exhale through his nose against the side of her hand.

“I was,” he confirms against her palm before she removes it to place it on his chest for leverage as she moves above him. His hands encircle her waist, helping her, pulling her down more firmly onto his cock. “I also,” he grunts, “Am really into this.” She smiles and he shifts his hand just enough so his thumb can find her clit, making her keen above him. “Fuck, baby, look at you. You look so good riding my cock,” he tells her, hand slipping up her body to her breasts and up further still to her mouth. Rey quickly closes her lips around them, sucking hard and staring at him through half lidded eyes. “So fucking good,” he says again while removing his fingers with an obscenely wet sound before dragging his fingers back down, circling a nipple with saliva-coated digits before pinching.

“Don’t stop,” she whines when his attention to her clit begins to slow, “I’m so close, Ben.”

“Yeah?” he asks, smiling up at her, doubling his efforts when she nods wildly, hands shifting from his chest to his abs. “Let me feel you, baby,” he croons at her and she whimpers, working herself on his cock with abandon, head tipped back as she chases her second release. As soon as he feels her pussy start to clench around him he spins them. Splaying her out beneath him and drawing one leg up, her shin tucked under his arm as he thrusts into her, drawing out her orgasm to chase his own. “Fuck, Rey, I’m gonna come,” he manages to bite out and he watches her nod frantically on the pillow, her hands coming up to grasp his ass, nails digging in just so and he comes hard.

He lets go of her leg and she lowers it slowly, pulling deep breaths of air in as she grins, giddily, up at him. “That was nice,” she breathes as he slips out of her to flop down beside her. He hums in agreement before throwing an arm over her abdomen and dragging her into his side. “We don’t have time to cuddle,” she admonishes, even as she turns into him. “Your parents are probably going to be here any minute now, and we still haven’t showered.”

“They have a key,” he grunts, turning his face so he’s not in the pillow and can look at her. “We can shower together,” Rey opens her mouth to protest but he cuts her off, “I promise, no funny business. Just get in, get clean, get out.”

“Fine,” she huffs, “Just let me pee first.” She scrambles from the bed and into the bathroom. She turns on the shower when she’s done and steps under the spray. Ben crowds in behind her moments later, flipping open the bottle of shampoo, instructing her to turn around so he can lather her up. She sags beneath him as he works, thoroughly enjoying the attention he is paying to her scalp. 

When he turns her back around so she can rinse she finds him staring at her pensively, mouth quirked in an adorable lopsided smile that blooms into a full one when she smiles back at him. “I love you,” he sighs, sounding almost wistful and Rey straightens, pushing water from her forehead as she steps out of the spray to really look at him. “I’m so sorry!” He blurts, which makes her frown, “No, I fuck. I’m fucking this up.”

“Ben,” she laughs, reaching for him, hands reaching up and gripping his face as he tries to back away as far as possible in the small shower space. “Stop, will you?” She smiles gently at him when he stills, “Did you mean it?” When he nods, face still held between her palms, she laughs again, “I don’t know what you think you fucked up, but I love you too.”

“I just wanted a more romantic location, but yeah?” he asks, sounding breathless.

“Yeah,” she insists with a nod, sounding equally breathless, and gods they’re a mess. He crowds back into her space, pulling her into his arms, lips falling onto her neck, skin wet and slippery as her arms come around his broad back. “Ben!” she squeaks when he hoists her up, turning her and pressing her into the wall that he had nearly backed himself into. “Ben, no, we can’t.” 

“Can’t what?” he asks, dropping her carefully. “I still need to wash my hair.”

“Ben Solo, you absolute ass!” She cries and if she weren’t soaking wet and in the shower, she would absolutely stomp her foot.

He opens one eye and peeks down at her, even as he lathers up his own hair. “I love you.” His whole face, _his whole body_ relaxes when he says the words, and she knows how long she’s been keeping them locked up inside, and wonders if it’s the same for him.

“I love you too, but you can’t just tease a woman like that.”

“You’re insatiable today,” he chuckles, tipping his head back to rinse it before grabbing the soap, “C’mere.” He grips her wrist and tugs her back into him and they take turns cleaning one another. Rey suspects it might just be the most intimate thing she’s ever done. Just the sound of the water as it falls from the shower, their breathing and the gentle noises of cloth sliding over slick skin. 

She could go another round and he’s well on his way to being ready to go again. He gropes behind him and blindly shuts the shower off, never breaking eye contact with her. Rey watches him step from the shower before holding out a hand to help her. Useless, but romantic in a way she supposes. His lips find hers in a gentle caress as he wraps a towel around her. She should be freezing in the cold air of the bathroom, but her wet heater of a boyfriend is doing a fine job of keeping her decently warm. Her hands fall to his waist, pulling him in against her abdomen, and she feels him, half hard, pressing against her.

Her mouth falls open when he moves to press kisses and gentle bites along her jawline, and bless him, he’s still holding the towel around her.

“Ben,” she starts, shivering, maybe just a little from the cold, and he hums against her throat. “I want-” The front door to his apartment opens and slams shut.

“Hey, kid!” Han’s voice rings through the space and Ben jolts against her.

“Oh no!” she gasps into his hair at the same time he growls, “You’ve got to be _fucking_ kidding me.”

He straightens and Rey fumbles for the towel as he lets it go. Hastily she wraps it around her torso while Ben tears the other one from the rack.

“Be right out!” he shouts over her head.

“Ben.” Rey bites her lip as she looks up at him.

“What is it?” he asks, bending to press a kiss against her forehead and Rey snorts when the ends of his wet hair tickle her cheeks.

“Ben, the kitchen.”

He rolls his jaw and then snorts, “Yeah, we can’t explain that one away, sorry, sweetheart.” There’s a noise of surprise from his living room and Rey groans. Ben brushes two fingers under her chin, “We’ll just tell them it’s my assprint in the flour.”

“Ben!”

“You’re right, that will never work, it’s too small and cute, and besides, there are handprints of mine in the flour.” He steps into his room and Rey watches him dress. “Just stay in here until I clean up, but I can assure you it’s not the biggest deal. They like you. Plus they’re gonna do what they do best, ignore anything that could be considered a problem.”

“You are not helping.” Rey insists, throwing open his closet door and fishing around for the outfit she had left here last week specifically for today.

He wraps his arms around her from behind and rests his chin on her shoulder. “I love you,” he says quietly, with an extra squeeze around her middle. “This will be fine. Dad will probably give you shit about it, but not until tonight when we’ve all had a decent amount of wine, he’ll probably actually be ribbing me about it more than you. You’re just gonna be stuck in the crossfire.” He presses a kiss to her shoulder and then her temple. “Love you,” he tells her once more before pulling away from her. “Remember, they like you,” he stage whispers from the door and she smiles at him as he steps out.

With a grunt, she quickly wraps the towel around her hair and from the other side of the door she can hear Leia jokingly inquire about where all of the cookies are. The clatter of dishes in the sink covers up any response Ben gives.

She puts on the skirt and blouse, a long cry from her coveralls for work or anything she might typically wear. She had considered wearing leggings to this — whatever this was — nice holiday dinner at Ben’s apartment with his family, but thought she should maybe look like she was trying. Bit late for that now, she muses as she throws her hair up, still wet, but it will have to suffice. She paces the width of the room twice, listening, but only hears quiet chatter and running water and decides it’s safe enough.

When she emerges into the open room, Han is digging for snacks in the fridge while Ben and Leia are at the sink. He’s washing while she dries. The tree they had picked together is nestled in its corner, lights on, casting a pleasant glow upon the room. It smells like pine and coffee and _home_.

“Well, good morning Rey,” Han sings, closing the refrigerator door with his elbow, arms laden with food as he turns to grin roguishly at her, something Ben _definitely_ inherited. “Coffee?” he asks, dumping a medley of breakfast items onto the counter before nudging a mug across the counter at her.

She steps closer and picks it up, muttering a quick “thanks,” before taking a sip. It’s perfect, and she glances up to catch Ben staring at her.

“You two gonna be making googly eyes at one another all day?” Han asks looking between them and Rey laughs, swinging up to perch on the barstool and watch Han crack open eggs into a bowl. “Scrambled eggs and bacon good with everyone?” 

Later, while Leia insists that ketchup does not belong on eggs and Ben and Han vehemently disagree, Rey muses that _everything_ is different this year compared to last. It was nothing but stilted conversation and Rey had shoved so many cookies into her mouth she was surprised she didn’t legitimately get a stomach issue.

After, when gifts have been exchanged and Han and Leia have gone to their hotel room, Rey lays stretched across Ben’s couch, head in his lap and eyes lazily fixed on the TV, _Parks and Rec_ on once more. “What are you doing?” she grumbles when he tugs the hair tie from her hair.

“Shh,” he hushes her, “Just relax.” He combs his fingers through her hair and she frowns when he begins to tug. It’s gentle but weird. 

She can’t remember the last time someone played with her hair, let alone — “Are you _braiding_ my hair?” she asks, turning her head just enough so she can look up at him. He looks happy and relaxed as he smiles with a nod before pushing her head back down. “You’re ridiculous, and I love you.” She laughs against him, and reaches back to grab the blanket off the back of the couch, dragging it down over her torso, awkwardly kicking her legs to try and get it to move.

“You’re equally ridiculous,” he laughs, removing his hands from her hair to lean over and help cover her with the blanket, “And I love you too.”

She rolls to smile up at him and swats his hand away when he tries to untangle the half braid that still remains. “So what do you think, can your apartment handle your parents, Finn, Poe and Rose tomorrow?”

Ben hums with a shrug, “We’ll make it work, but I was thinking of maybe relocating for next year?”

“Oh yeah? Well, okay. I’ll miss sharing a wall with you,” she tells him with a smile, tugging the blanket up around her shoulders and turning back to the TV.

“Yeah, me too — wait. What?”

“What, what?”

She turns to watch him scrub a hand over his face in frustration, “I just keep fucking this up today.” He nudges her and then pulls her up so she’s sitting and he turns to face her. “I want to move out.”

“Yes, I know,” Rey nods, eyes wide.

“I want to move out, so that _we_ can move in together, because, let's face it, there’s not enough room in here for both of us with our stuff. We really would need to knock down the wall,” he laughs here before continuing on. “I know this is fast or whatever,” he waves a hand and Rey smiles, “But I love you, and I am really tired of falling asleep at your place, or you at mine, and one of us having to shuffle down the hall because our closets barely fit our own clothes, let alone both of ours. And, sometimes I dream about an oven with an even temperature, that doesn’t need three different thermometers to monitor the inside.”

He looks so earnest and nervous in the glow of the Christmas lights and the TV, and she shouldn’t laugh, but she does. She laughs as she flings her arms around him and climbs into his lap. Laughs as his hands scramble for the blanket to keep it wrapped around her shoulders. “You’re serious?” she asks, lips still quirked in a grin. “You’re serious!” She repeats herself before kissing him. 

“That’s not an answer!” He declares when she pulls away which only makes her laugh again, pressing her mouth just under his jawline, the place that makes him squirm every time.

“I thought the enthusiasm was answer enough. Yes. Of course!” He beams at her and she gasps dramatically, “Oh no, who will you get your sugar from when you run out while stress baking.”

“Dunno,” he muses, tipping his head back, “Maybe some cute neighbor will take pity on me, while also thinking I’m a snack.”

“Ben Solo, I told you that in confidence,” she hisses with a laugh, rising up on her knees so she can look down at him. “Also, if you think that you can just pick up all of our future neighbors by asking for sugar, you are mistaken.” 

His smile is wide as his hands slip beneath her sweater, “I love you.” He stands then, taking her with him, before depositing her on the floor. She watches in amusement as he turns on the TV and then messes with his phone before tossing it onto the couch. “Dance with me?” he asks, as the exact same song she had first put on last year begins to play.

“How-?” she begins, but he laughs.

“Don’t give me too much credit, I airdropped your playlist to my phone.”

“Thief.”

He hums against her temple, “Just enjoy it. And after, we’re going to talk about how you named it, ‘It’s Christmas, Bitch.’” Rey snorts before pressing her face into his chest and laughing.

Outside, it begins to snow again.

**Author's Note:**

> I first heard the song that inspired this story and gave it it's title years ago on a road trip to Florida, and I tucked it away as something for later. Because I knew when I heard it, it was perfect AU inspo, little did I know back then I was only waiting for Rey and Ben to show up to let the story truly take shape.
> 
> I'm so happy to have this finally be out in the world, it was fun exploring their relationship this way, and I learned to bake a few new things too!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you'll let me know what you thought. 
> 
> [Lonely Neighbor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QANyZPaIo7g)


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